Design
1761 (Designed and made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This design is a preparatory technical drawing for a patterned silk. It acted as instructions for the weaver about how to tie up the threads on the loom and then weave in the pattern. It belongs to an archive of similar designs commissioned by a silk manufacturing partnership active in Lyon — the most prestigious centre of the silk industry in Europe from the 1660s onwards — and corresponds in style to the 1760s when patterns were curvaceous. The partnership was called L. Galy, Gallien et cie from 1761 until the beginning of 1771 and it was one of Lyon’s 400 manufacturing concerns mid-century. It kept good records, noting on the back of the designs the number of the design and minimal instructions on how it should be woven.
This design was for a patterned silk with a plain background, approximately 54 centimetres wide. It would have had this motif repeated across the width at least twice. In Lyon, manufacturing regulations dictated the widths in which such silks might be woven.
This design was for a patterned silk with a plain background, approximately 54 centimetres wide. It would have had this motif repeated across the width at least twice. In Lyon, manufacturing regulations dictated the widths in which such silks might be woven.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Engraved rule paper, painted in gouache |
| Brief description | for woven silk, 1761, French; Galy Gallien, red lace meanders, stripes, flowers |
| Physical description | Mise-en-carte or draft, in watercolour on ruled paper (engraved copper plate used for impression). Red lace meanders, stripes, and flowers |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Production type | Design |
| Marks and inscriptions | L. Galy Gallien et Cie, 19 S[eptem] 1761
No. 615 Taff [eta] en Soye B[roch]e Cordonnet nue 35 dix[ain]es à Répétition (There follow instructions for combining the colours of the weft into six lashes on the loom. The fifth shoot contains five different colours.)
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| Production | Attribution note: These designs were painted by a designer who was conversant with the weaving process. Each space between the lines represents groups of warp (vertical) and weft (horizontal) threads. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This design is a preparatory technical drawing for a patterned silk. It acted as instructions for the weaver about how to tie up the threads on the loom and then weave in the pattern. It belongs to an archive of similar designs commissioned by a silk manufacturing partnership active in Lyon — the most prestigious centre of the silk industry in Europe from the 1660s onwards — and corresponds in style to the 1760s when patterns were curvaceous. The partnership was called L. Galy, Gallien et cie from 1761 until the beginning of 1771 and it was one of Lyon’s 400 manufacturing concerns mid-century. It kept good records, noting on the back of the designs the number of the design and minimal instructions on how it should be woven. This design was for a patterned silk with a plain background, approximately 54 centimetres wide. It would have had this motif repeated across the width at least twice. In Lyon, manufacturing regulations dictated the widths in which such silks might be woven. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.400-1972 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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